somebody just killed your dog,” Ryan said.
“Yeah, I kind of struck out with a babe I met this morning at the Criminal Courts building.”
“Oh? Anybody I’d know?”
This asshole seems to know everybody, Leal thought.
“A state’s attorney. She prepped me for the grand jury.”
“Not Sharon Divine?” Ryan asked, his upper lip curling into a salacious grin.
“I think it’s Devain.”
“Yeah, but I say Divine. She is a good-looking woman. But, listen, Frankie, you’d better be careful messing around with a
chick like that. You don’t know how much mileage she’s got on her. Might have AIDS or something. If she had as many pricks
sticking out of her as she’s had stuck in her, she’d probably look like a porcupine.”
Leal was finding himself growing very tired of Ryan and his stupid comments. Figuring that he’d gotten just about everything
he needed from this meeting, he tossed a few bucks on the bar for a tip.
“I got to get going,” he said.
“Aww, come on, Frankie. Stick around, at least till the rush hour is over. I’ll buy the next round if you want.”
Leal shook his head and stood up.
“No thanks,” he said. “And the name’s Frank.”
Leal left the bar feeling a bit more light-headed than two beers called for; then he realized that he hadn’t eaten all day.
He pulled into the first fast food place he came to, a Burger King, and got a Whopper, fries, and a large coffee. Ryan had
been right about the rush hour, so Leal ate slowly and watched the cars passing before him under the darkening canopy of the
late summer sky.
I wonder if she was just brushing me off? he mused, thinking about his telephone conversation. But, hey, she did give me her
home number. And she’d taken off her jacket this morning. What was that other than an invitation for me to check her out?
Then he realized that the beer must be fueling his logic as the memory of the stuffiness of the small State’s Attorney’s office
came floating back to him. Hell, he’d felt uncomfortable in his sports coat this morning, too. But still, he wasn’t ready
to accept defeat in this matter just yet.
I’ll call her tomorrow sometime, he thought.
The coffee had grown cold under the neglect of his ruminations. He went for a free refill, and thought about his new assignment
with assholes Ryan and Brice leading the charge. Certainly Sean must have had something to do with me getting selected, Leal
thought. But Brice must have agreed to it somehow. So was Ryan’s setup theory right? Was the plan to toss two inexperienced
cops, one apparently functional alcoholic, and one hot-tempered asshole who told off a judge, into the fray in case O’Hara
needed some quick scapegoats? Maybe that was why Brice had disregarded the seniority factor and put Ryan in charge… I had my reservations about that guy Leal , he could almost hear Brice’s raspy voice saying.
But there was a flip side: first of all, he hadn’t been switched back to uniform. And second, if they did a thorough job and
maybe got some good leads, they could come out looking professional even if O’Hara didn’t win. And last, if they somehow got
lucky, and managed to solve this one, they’d be able to write their own tickets, no matter who won the goddamn election.
CHAPTER SEVEN
A Call in the Night
The phone rang just as Martin Walker had finished snorting a line. The rush made him feel so much more capable and on top
of things, especially when he had mundane tasks to do, like cutting and bagging the rest of the stuff he’d gotten from Nuke.
He had to step on it heavily, to make up for the exceedingly larger cuts he was taking for his personal use each time. But
no matter. The morons at the firm probably wouldn’t know the difference if he slipped them granulated sugar. Just so he had
enough for his special “guests” when he needed it. The loud ringing continued, breaking his trend of thought.
Dammit, who could be
“Yeah, I kind of struck out with a babe I met this morning at the Criminal Courts building.”
“Oh? Anybody I’d know?”
This asshole seems to know everybody, Leal thought.
“A state’s attorney. She prepped me for the grand jury.”
“Not Sharon Divine?” Ryan asked, his upper lip curling into a salacious grin.
“I think it’s Devain.”
“Yeah, but I say Divine. She is a good-looking woman. But, listen, Frankie, you’d better be careful messing around with a
chick like that. You don’t know how much mileage she’s got on her. Might have AIDS or something. If she had as many pricks
sticking out of her as she’s had stuck in her, she’d probably look like a porcupine.”
Leal was finding himself growing very tired of Ryan and his stupid comments. Figuring that he’d gotten just about everything
he needed from this meeting, he tossed a few bucks on the bar for a tip.
“I got to get going,” he said.
“Aww, come on, Frankie. Stick around, at least till the rush hour is over. I’ll buy the next round if you want.”
Leal shook his head and stood up.
“No thanks,” he said. “And the name’s Frank.”
Leal left the bar feeling a bit more light-headed than two beers called for; then he realized that he hadn’t eaten all day.
He pulled into the first fast food place he came to, a Burger King, and got a Whopper, fries, and a large coffee. Ryan had
been right about the rush hour, so Leal ate slowly and watched the cars passing before him under the darkening canopy of the
late summer sky.
I wonder if she was just brushing me off? he mused, thinking about his telephone conversation. But, hey, she did give me her
home number. And she’d taken off her jacket this morning. What was that other than an invitation for me to check her out?
Then he realized that the beer must be fueling his logic as the memory of the stuffiness of the small State’s Attorney’s office
came floating back to him. Hell, he’d felt uncomfortable in his sports coat this morning, too. But still, he wasn’t ready
to accept defeat in this matter just yet.
I’ll call her tomorrow sometime, he thought.
The coffee had grown cold under the neglect of his ruminations. He went for a free refill, and thought about his new assignment
with assholes Ryan and Brice leading the charge. Certainly Sean must have had something to do with me getting selected, Leal
thought. But Brice must have agreed to it somehow. So was Ryan’s setup theory right? Was the plan to toss two inexperienced
cops, one apparently functional alcoholic, and one hot-tempered asshole who told off a judge, into the fray in case O’Hara
needed some quick scapegoats? Maybe that was why Brice had disregarded the seniority factor and put Ryan in charge… I had my reservations about that guy Leal , he could almost hear Brice’s raspy voice saying.
But there was a flip side: first of all, he hadn’t been switched back to uniform. And second, if they did a thorough job and
maybe got some good leads, they could come out looking professional even if O’Hara didn’t win. And last, if they somehow got
lucky, and managed to solve this one, they’d be able to write their own tickets, no matter who won the goddamn election.
CHAPTER SEVEN
A Call in the Night
The phone rang just as Martin Walker had finished snorting a line. The rush made him feel so much more capable and on top
of things, especially when he had mundane tasks to do, like cutting and bagging the rest of the stuff he’d gotten from Nuke.
He had to step on it heavily, to make up for the exceedingly larger cuts he was taking for his personal use each time. But
no matter. The morons at the firm probably wouldn’t know the difference if he slipped them granulated sugar. Just so he had
enough for his special “guests” when he needed it. The loud ringing continued, breaking his trend of thought.
Dammit, who could be
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